It seemed that the fight was supposed to wake the floor of the house, but the windows of the neighbors were still dark.

For another ten seconds I stood and peered into the night. No sound, no rustle.

I had a big tremor.

With naughty fingers, I fumbled for the phone and dialed the police. A couple of beeps and the cheerful voice of the dispatcher. Confusedly, confusing words, I recounted what I saw as best I could.

- So, a large animal attacked a man. Wait for the outfit. Repeat the address again.

The waiting time was endless. I glanced at the clock. God, it's only been a minute. You can't just sit like this. Suddenly that person dies, bleeds out!? Grabbing a hemostatic tourniquet and a gas canister, I, as I was - in pajama pants and a home T-shirt, rushed out into the street. There is not a soul on the landing, the light is dim, on the first floor it is generally dark. I hear only my crazy pulse and ragged breathing. I press the glowing green button, shove the door open and...

I freeze as if frozen. In front of me is the same man who was involved in the fight and to whom I was in a hurry to help. Even though I couldn't see him before, I'm pretty sure it's him. But I expected to see him wounded and covered in blood, or worse.

At this time, the stranger’s gaze glides over me, examining me from head to toe, and a smirk appears on his face:

That's you I was looking for.

"He has eyes the color of wet asphalt," flashes through my head. And the next moment I raise my hand and spray a gas spray into those most insanely beautiful eyes. I step back into the entrance, hastily close the door and fly, jumping over the steps, to my apartment. I close all the locks and settle on the floor, catching my breath.

What the hell was that!?

How is that even possible!?

A police siren can be heard in the distance. This sound gradually calms me down and I begin to return to reality. In the kitchen, the kettle no longer whistles, but rather squeaks in a huff. Kuzya yelps and looks anxiously into his eyes.

Knocking open window. Although I'm pretty sure that it was put only for airing.

What, that's exactly what she said? Galya stares at me. - That some man turned into a wolf in front of your eyes !?

- Well, yes ... This is the police, they need to tell the truth.

A friend came to me at ten o'clock in the morning, apparently, she was going to drag me to some event in order to distract me from gloomy thoughts. Now we were sitting in the kitchen eating my favorite banana chocolate ice cream right on the floor, surrounded by my personal rock garden, I mean bagels.

Galina was cheerful and cheerful, but I yawned desperately and looked enviously at Kuzka, who had pulled the tack off the chair and was now blissfully snoring on it. My faithful dog yesterday supported me in every possible way and calmed me in all ways available to him until the morning, until I finally fell asleep. All night long I replayed everything that had happened in my head with maniacal persistence. My common sense said that the transformation of a person into a beast is impossible, that werewolves do not exist, that these are all inventions of ancient storytellers. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not see any signs that this was just someone's trick or trick.

Willy-nilly, the thought crept in that I was still crazy, that I had not met any Sergei in the mental hospital and I was still put in a hospital for treatment. And everything that happened - divorce, examination, werewolves, that man - is only a product of my sick imagination. I recalled an episode from the series about Buffy and the Vampires, in which she also turned out to be a patient in a mental hospital. Find out what's true...

I pushed these thoughts away from me, because I understood how dangerous they were. And useless. After all, with the same success, my entire previous life could have been the fruit of my, or someone else's, stormy fantasy. It's still impossible to check.

If, however, to discard all doubts, but to continue self-digging, then one more point was alarming: much more often I remembered not that werewolf, but a man. And although he did not turn into any animal, it was he who inspired more fear. He was a predator. I felt it in every cell of my body.

That's who you should be afraid of. And I did the right thing by spraying him with a spray can. You need to run away from such people quickly and far.

"I've been looking for you"...

Still, he's stunningly handsome. Not like my Max - sugary, but brutal, dangerous and dark beauty. I managed to notice it, but I can’t say that it hooked me at least a little. Still, I’m not fifteen, I’m not the heroine of a love story, and butterflies in my stomach don’t flutter from the mere sight of a handsome guy. Here are just his eyes... The colors of wet asphalt... With dancing demons... You can so easily drown in them.

Having heard about yesterday's night incident, Galya seized me with pincers and forced me to tell everything in great detail.

I told. All the same, she was not going to hide anything, but not from Galina. Since over the years of our friendship with her, I realized two things. First - I can tell Galya everything. She will keep secrets and understand. And if he doesn’t understand, then he won’t laugh, and if he does, then openly, in person, with me, so much so that after any trouble it will seem insignificant. The second thing is that it is still impossible to hide anything from Uvarova Galina. The truth will definitely emerge, sooner or later, but she can smell a lie a mile away. Here is a truly invaluable member of the detective police department would have turned out.

By the way, unlike the police, my friend did not doubt my words for a second. She was even completely delighted, as she was a girl with broad views and had long believed in everything mystical and supernatural. But my frankness with the police officers surprised her a little.

- Well, you give, Nastena, - Uvarova continued to shake her head contritely.

- What's wrong here? You yourself believe in all this "werewolf".

- I do believe. And that's okay. But telling the police is crazy. Is that how they reacted?

Yes, that's exactly how they reacted. At first they asked me if I had used anything, and then they called me crazy.

- Well. What about you?

- What about me? I put a certificate from a psychiatrist, well, this is the conclusion of an examination, and shoved it under their noses. She was in my pajama pants. Like, no, I'm healthy, that's just checked recently.

Galina burst out:

- Oh, mother, you give. I present their reaction.

They stood in shock for about a minute. The girl, although she looked into the certificate, but it seems that after that, on the contrary, she decided that I was sick all over. Maybe not in a psychiatric sense, but purely human. And the guy said that he saw me a month ago at the station when I wrote a statement on Max. It was an unusual case, so he remembered me. He promised to call the investigative team, and if they find something, traces of claws, clothes, blood ... Other residents will be interviewed, again. Then, they say, the case will be opened.

- I didn't believe you either.

- Yeah. He also warned, as if in passing, that there is also responsibility for a false call and that all this "werewolfism, vampirism and witchcraft" is now fashionable among young people, and they already have a blockage of calls, a shortage of personnel. And I, they say, a serious young lady, but all the same there.

- That's a snob. - Printed Pebbles.

Yes, I have a hard time believing myself. Maybe it really was a dream? And the policeman is quite normal. Cute, by the way.

- Well, in more detail, is he an officer?

- Gaaalya, I just got divorced yesterday. And, by the way, I decided to take a break in the relationship.

- Well, yes, yes... Did you tell about the open window?

- No, after everything else, the window simply didn't have a place to plug it in. You better tell me why you came. I can see that I'm up to something.

- Thought, - fervently smiled girlfriend. - You let's get dressed, and I'll take your Kuzya for a walk.

“Hey, I won’t even take a step without explanation,” she lied. Of course I will! For Pebbles, even into the fire ... That's just curious, how passionate!

But Galya was already waving to me from the door, and Kuzya was jumping impatiently at her feet. Traitor...

I went to get dressed. The mood went up: Uvarova looked joyfully excited, which means that a really interesting thing awaited us.

At the same time, in a country house, two men - one young, broad-shouldered brunette, the other older, with glimpses of gray hair that did not spoil his manly beauty in the least - were having a leisurely conversation over cups of black coffee.

- The girl must be eliminated. I'm amazed you didn't fix the problem right away. She saw a lot, she can tell, - the gray-haired man spoke calmly, without reproach.